Campaign filings from the candidate Doug Ford backed in Toronto's mayoral byelection shows he tapped into a fundraising network that supports the premier and the Progressive Conservatives.
After initially declaring he'd stay out of the mayoral race, the premier announced he was going to vote for Saunders and then did robocalls on his behalf.
Former Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders ended up finishing a distant third place, receiving a disappointing nine per cent of votes.
Saunders previously ran unsuccessfully for the PCs in the 2022 provincial election, and is close to the premier, who had earlier named him a special adviser on the Ontario Place development. Saunders' 2021 appointment made its way back into the news recently after the provincial opposition NDP announced it learned through a freedom-of-information request that he produced no formal recommendations, reports or advice during it.
It was Ana Bailão, the close runner-up to Olivia Chow, who raised the most money of the mayoral candidates from recent PC donors overall, and from donors who'd given to the premier's own leadership campaign, according to The Trillium's data analysis.
Bailão raised about $300,000 from people whose names match the PC donor lists of the last five years, and $65,000 from donors of Ford's in 2018. From the same groups of donors, Saunders received about $200,000 and $50,000.
(The numbers are approximate because the records are imperfect, with spelling mistakes and just initials or short-form names for some donors, and because it's likely that, in some cases, there are different donors with the same name.)
In total, Bailão raised $2.1 million, more than twice as much as Saunders' $971,000. She received 32 per cent of votes, five points shy of Chow.
Measuring how efficient campaigns were at using funds to elicit votes, Chow did the best among the top five candidates at $5.80 per vote, followed by Bailão at $9.10. By way of comparison, Coun. Josh Matlow spent over $30 and Saunders spent $16.
Who donated
Saunders' donor list was also notable for including names that match those of people in provincial political circles and the premier's orbit — perhaps unsurprising, given Ford's endorsement of the former police chief. They include:
John Mutton
The former mayor of Clarington has been identified by The Trillium and other outlets as "Mr. X" — a consultant who had a contract to assist developer Peter Tanenbaum get land he owned removed from the Greenbelt, according to the province's integrity commissioner. The commissioner, who used the pseudonym in part because he can't reveal a subject of a lobbying investigation, said "Mr. X" didn't register as a lobbyist and the contract included $1 million in contingency payments for the land’s removal and rezoning, which would be illegal if Mutton was found to have lobbied. The land was indeed removed from the Greenbelt but the province is set to officially reverse that decision with legislation tabled next week.
Mutton is also a bodybuilder, magic mushrooms entrepreneur, and CEO of the self-described "leading firm" in turning out minister’s zoning orders.
Several Greenbelt developers
Peter Tanenbaum is among the Greenbelt developers whose names are on Saunders' donors list. People related to major development companies that had land removed from the Greenbelt's protection — Fieldgate and TACC — also appear to have donated to Saunders. Jack Eisenberger, president of Fieldgate, held a fundraiser for Saunders, the records show. In both cases, the same people — or those with the same name residing at the same address — also donated to Bailão.
People who are personally close to the premier
Other names on Saunders' donors' list match the premier himself and his wife, as well as his recently married son-in-law, John Aiello. Others include people who were guests at the fall wedding of one of the premier's daughters. That includes Kenneth and Madeleine Bodenstein, who sat at the premier's table. Madeleine was later appointed to the York Region Police Services Board.
Tony Miele, a PC party fundraiser who also sold some tickets to the premier's daughter's stag and doe, is also on Saunders' donor list, as is Nico Fidani-Diker, a former aide and family friend of the premier, as well as members of his lobbying firm. Both worked on Saunders' campaign, and both attended the premier's daughter's wedding, according to a photo of the wedding seating chart the wedding photographer posted online.
The stars of 'Ontario Made'
Six members of the Ajmera family, owners of the industrial bakery FGF Brands, donated the maximum. The premier recently promoted the company in the launch of "Ontario Made," a series of social media videos that promote Ontario manufacturers.
In a statement to The Trillium, Saunders' campaign manager said the campaign was grateful for every donation.
"The City of Toronto has strict fundraising compliance rules including transparency and donation limits, which our campaign abided by," said Laryssa Waler. "Toronto is the economic engine of Canada, and people who supported our campaign are folks who want to see Toronto thrive as a safe, clean, and prosperous city."
Donations to Toronto mayoral candidates are capped at $2,500.
Bailao and Saunders had many donors who gave their campaigns the maximum amount allowed, while Furey, Matlow and Chow had very few.
Most campaigns closed with reasonably balanced budgets. Candidates can continue fundraising after election day and, after that concluded, Saunders ended his fundraising just over $20,000 in debt — pale compared to Matlow's $150,000.
Looked at as dollar values, Chow raised the most money from people giving under the legal cap.
Municipal campaigns in Ontario can accept money from outside the community. In the data, giving from outside the 416 was mainly from the 'near 905': Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham.
Out-of-town donations were most common for Bailão and Saunders.
Chow's out-of-town donations stood out with a significant number from Ottawa, including former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former Halifax NDP MP Megan Leslie, and economist and writer Armine Yalnizyan. MP Charlie Angus also gave to Chow's campaign, listing an address in Cobalt.
Looked at by dollar value, over a third of Saunders' donations were from outside Toronto.
Overall, most campaigns managed reasonably balanced budgets, and only Chow had a significant surplus. Candidates can continue to fundraise after the campaign, and Saunders received some donations that helped reduce his deficit to about $20,000. But it pales in comparison to Matlow's $150,000 hole.
